The big free agent news will happen outside of Denver this year, with the likes of LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony on the open market. Teams can start negotiating contracts at midnight Tuesday.

The Nuggets, meanwhile, promise to be ready to pounce if a trade opportunity presents itself, but their roster appears set. They already have 13 players signed to guaranteed contracts and don't have the cap space, or playing time, to add more players.

Denver entered the offseason with one clear desire — improving their perimeter defense — and they believe they took care of that on draft day when they traded for Orlando shooting guard Arron Afflalo. On draft night they landed two first-round picks, Bosnian center Jusuf Nurkic and Michigan State guard Gary Harris Jr.

Factor those additions in with the return of injured players such as Danilo Gallinari, JaVale McGee, Nate Robinson and J.J. Hickson, and the Nuggets appear two-deep with capable players at every position.

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Asked if the Nuggets would be in more of a "read-and-react" mode during free agency than actively pursuing players, general manager Tim Connelly said that was an accurate description.

"It's such a fluid league," Connelly said. "We're still going to be pretty active working the phones (in case) any good opportunities present themselves on the trade market. But I really feel good about where we are. I like our depth. I like the trustworthiness of a lot of our players. I think we have pieces that are complementary and I'm excited to see how they are with Brian in Year 2."

Given the roster and limited cap space, it's unlikely that point guard Aaron Brooks and forward Jan Vesely will be back. The Nuggets traded for both players at last season's trade deadline, and both played significant minutes. Brooks was in search of more playing time to prove to that he is worthy of a multi-year deal.

Across the NBA, it will be anything but quiet. James and Anthony are this year's biggest free-agent prizes, and while it appears James is angling for a return to the Miami Heat if they add more talent around him, Anthony is expected to seriously look at leaving the New York Knicks. Other players expected to command a lot of interest are Toronto's Kyle Lowry, Detroit's Greg Monroe, Indiana's Lance Stephenson, the L.A. Lakers' Pau Gasol and the Wizards' Marcin Gorat and Trevor Ariza.

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